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The new £27m museum housing the Mary Rose in Hampshire has welcomed its 250,000th visitor just 18 weeks after opening.

The centre, which brought the hull of the Tudor warship together with thousands of its artefacts for the first time, opened on 31st May 2013.

To achieve our 250,000th visitor in such a short time far exceeds all our expectations. We are thrilled both with the record numbers and with the overwhelming response, which reflects the excitement that the new exhibition is generating. Not only have we welcomed visitors from our immediate area and across the UK, but also a considerable number from right across the world."

HMS Victory has received additional funding from the government Credit: PA Wire

HMS Victory's future has been secured by a £5m donation from the government today.

Culture Secretary Maria Miller announced that the government will award the money, in addition to the £25m donation last year to the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

The government's donation is part of the Catalyst Endowment Initiative - a joint programme between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Initiative has so far raised over £24m from private donations with the government providing match-funding of £11m.

The culture secretary said: "This is a fantastic result for HMS Victory. Demand for Catalyst endowment grants has exceeded all forecasts, and the match funding provided by my Department, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England has encouraged donors to come forward."

The £27m Mary Rose museum will open at the end of May Credit: Portico Marketing

The £27m museum built to house the Mary Rose will open on 31st May 2013, nearly 500 years after the Tudor warship sank.

She was raised from the seabed in 1982 now has a museum built around her, reuniting the ship with its contents and crew.

The museum has been designed as a giant ‘air lock’ and time capsule, containing one of the most comprehensive collection of Tudor artefacts in the world - from belongings such as wooden eating bowls, leather shoes, musical instruments and even nit combs through to longbows and two-tonne guns.

For the first time crew members are being brought to life through forensic science: visitors can come face to face with a carpenter, cook and archer and even ‘Hatch’ the ship’s dog.